On Fri, 9 Apr 2010 12:56:31 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>Lin made some ras al hanout a while back, and it was sitting there in the
>pantry looking all forlorn, so I decided to use some of it: I sprinkled
>chicken thighs with salt and ras al hanout. I warmed the tagine with a
>little olive oil over medium-low heat, then added the chicken thighs skin
>side down. While the pan was coming up to temperature, I sliced an onion and
>finely chopped a preserved lemon, both of which went on top of the chicken.
>Then I very lightly drizzled honey over, covered the tagine, and allowed to
>cook for about 50 minutes. At the 45-minute point, I peeled the bottom
>section of a small bunch of asparagus, then cut it into two-inch lengths. At
>the 50-minute point I added that asparagus to the tagine, covered it back
>up, and cooked until the asparagus was tender, which took 15 minutes.
>
>Lin doesn't like cous-cous, so we had challah alongside. Dessert was a leaf
>from our chocolate mint plant, which is doing quite nicely.
>
I had to Google Ras el Hanout. Looks like a good mixture to keep on
hand for those Moroccan style dishes I'm making now that I have
preserved lemon on hand. Thanks for the name, I wasn't familiar with
it.

Ras el Hanout
http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/raselhanout.html

This streamlined version includes many of the main spices of the
traditional mixture.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
I teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Preparation:
In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients until combined well.
Spice blend keeps in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1
month.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.